Identifying Prospects You Don’t Want As Clients

C.J. Hayden has a host of resources about how to Get Clients Now.

In a recent article, though, she reminds us… there’s some prospects we DON’T want as clients. Here are some pointers on how to identify them…

It sometimes seems in the game of marketing professional
services that the only rule is to land the client at all costs.
We spend an enormous amount of time and effort pursuing our
prospects — tracking down the decision-maker, making sales
calls, writing proposals, and following up over and over. But
not every prospect is a good candidate for becoming a client. In
fact, some of them can be downright detrimental to your
business.

If you watch for early warning signs while you are wooing a
prospect, you can often identify problem clients before they
ever get a chance to hire you. Here are ten prospects who should
probably never become clients.

Here’s how I summarize her key points:

1. Prospects who want you to discount your price 30% or more.

2. Clients who were never happy with anyone else in your field.

3.  Prospects who want a discount now based on a high volume of business later (that may never develop)

4. Prospects who “disappear” when it’s time to pay but suddenly begin stalking you when THEY want something.

5. Prospects who say “We don’t have time to sign a contract or cut a deposit check before we start on this project.” (When will they have the time?)

6. Prospects who suddenly increase the scope of the project but who don’t want to increase your pay.

7. Clients who want to pick your brain but who don’t want to pay… essentially they want free advice.

Read more of her work here along with the rest of her 10 warning signs…